Trembling At A High Altitude

"Is there something you want to say?" Li Teng walked up to Sunglasses Woman and asked her.

"Stand still and don't move." Sunglasses Woman responded to Li Teng's question, then stretched out her hand and gently tapped on his forehead three times before turning around to leave.

"Weren't you going to tell me something? What does tapping my forehead three times mean?" Li Teng was completely puzzled.

"You're a smart man, figure it out yourself," Sunglasses Woman walked back to the coffee table.

"How am I supposed to figure that out? You could give me some kind of hint, right?"

"There's no hint, you're so smart, you'll definitely figure out what it means. Also, even if you do figure it out, don't ever ask me to confirm it," Sunglasses Woman stood still and replied to Li Teng before she quickly walked away.

The bus to the airport had already arrived, and under the urging of the airport staff, everyone quickly boarded the bus, leaving Li Teng no chance to ask anything more.

"Tap three times, does it mean she wants to have a date with me at three in the morning?"

"It's already one or two o'clock at night now, right?"

"But the question is, where do I find her after I get back to the pillar?"

"What is she playing at?"

"Could my intelligence come up with the answer?"

"Without a single hint, even if I'm damn smart, I can't figure it out!"

"Is she toying with me?"

The airport security is really tight, they won't even let you take a plastic bag, let alone clothes.

Of course, items that are inconvenient to take with you can be stored at the airport for free, and you can retrieve them by facial recognition next time you come.

The departure was late at night.

When I got back to the pillar, it was still not bright out.

I always feel especially uncomfortable at times like this.

It's as if I've suddenly fallen from a warm world into the depths of hell.

Of course, Film and Television City is not exactly a warm world either.

There's always someone there trying to kill Li Teng.

But at least there's food and drink, just on this account alone, it's much better than the top of the pillar.

This time coming back was a bit different from last time.

Last time, it snowed all day on top of the pillar, burying my bed in snow.

Li Teng was nearly frozen to death and barely survived by hiding in a snow cave he had dug.

This time, thankfully, the night is normal and there haven't been any extreme weather events.

The first thing Li Teng did when he got back to his broken bed was to check if his bottle of mineral water was still there.

It was still there.

Li Teng breathed a sigh of relief.

This bottle of mineral water was his lifeline.

If the top of the pillar continued to experience droughts, this bottle of mineral water could save his life, but without it, he would have a hard time surviving three days.

You can only attend to other matters if you're alive; without life, everything stops.

I ate heartily today.

I ate a full twelve buns and a whole roasted chicken.

If you're well-fed, you won't feel cold.

And unlike the buns, which get digested as soon as they enter the stomach, the roasted chicken has protein and fat that can be digested slowly, lasting for a longer time.

Thinking of roasted chicken reminds me of Sunglasses Woman again.

She tapped on the top of my head three times before we parted, but what on earth does it mean?

Right, could it be symbolizing a phrase?

What could a three-word phrase be?

"I love you?"

"Hahaha…"

"Because I'm handsome, she fell for me at first sight?"

"She bought me roasted chicken and even wants to date me."

"I've figured it out, I really am a genius."

"But I really don't want to fall in love here."

"It's just asking for trouble."

"So, next time I go back to Film and Television City, I will reject her firmly."

"Even though turning down a woman's advances outright will hurt her pride, maybe even make her hate me, I have no choice."

"Why do I attract so much love?"

"High IQ, good looks, honesty, integrity, optimism, strength, bravery, responsibility, maturity, stability, sincerity, generosity, humor, toughness, calmness, shamelessness..."

"I embody all the excellent qualities of a Chinese man."

"That's why I'm so lovable."

Li Teng thought about this question as he drifted into dreamland.

...

When he woke up the next morning, Li Teng lay in bed, barely remembering.

He had had a long dream last night, a very harmonious one.

It might have been because he ate too much yesterday—warmth and contentment leading to that sort of thing.

"Even though I would reject her advances, if she wants to do some lovemaking activities with me, I might consider doing it with her without any emotional involvement," Li Teng rethought his decision from last night.

"But if I engage in such activities without emotions, wouldn't I just become a scumbag?"

"Forget it, I should just clearly reject her and keep my distance."

"I'm an upright and positive man, I don't want to be a scumbag."

Speaking of the sun... after it rose in the morning, Li Teng found that something was slightly amiss.

As time slowly approached noon, the temperature at the top of the stone column rose higher and higher, shifting from burning hot to scorching hot.

"This is unscientific! How can it be this hot so high up? And it just snowed a few days ago!"

Li Teng's clothes were soaked through with sweat; he simply took them all off and lay motionless beneath the bed plank.

Soon, Li Teng couldn't stand lying under the bed plank any longer.

The stones at the top of the column were getting hotter, nearly burning to the touch.

If he continued to lie there, he would be cooked through.

Having no choice, Li Teng crawled back onto the wooden plank bed.

The high temperature rapidly evaporated the moisture from Li Teng's body; he hadn't dared to touch his only bottle of mineral water yet.

Now was not the most difficult time.

The heat made Li Teng somewhat understand why the cultured elderly lady didn't make it last time.

If this weather continued, Li Teng felt that even with a bottle of mineral water, he wouldn't last long.

All he could do now was to remain completely still.

To minimize the loss of body fluids.

...

The afternoon became even more grueling.

Although only one day had passed, Li Teng's level of dehydration had already reached the level of the previous several days.

The higher the temperature, the faster the body loses water.

Li Teng finally couldn't resist and opened the bottle of mineral water, taking a few small sips.

He wanted to chug the whole bottle, but he dared not.

He hoped the weather would cool down tomorrow; otherwise, he wouldn't last much longer.

At last, the sun set.

The sunset did little to lower the temperature; it was still oppressively hot, unreasonably and unusually so.

Li Teng hadn't urinated more than a few drops all day long, feeling as if he was about to become a dried-up mummy.

Before falling asleep, he couldn't help but drink a few more sips of water.

The 600-milliliter bottle of mineral water quickly had less than 200 milliliters left.

It had to rain tomorrow! Otherwise, he would die.

That night, Li Teng still had many dreams.

But there were none of those harmonious dreams anymore.

All the dreams had just one theme.

And that was looking everywhere for water to drink.

He dreamed that he found a tap, turned it on, and leaned his mouth against it, gulping down water.

But no matter how much he drank, it didn't quench his thirst.

Until at last, he woke up exhausted.

The day was already dawning.

In just one day's time, Li Teng found his body had become extremely weak.

He tried to sit up and immediately felt the world spinning.

This wasn't a good sign.

It was a premonition of complete physical collapse.

Please, let today not be as hot as yesterday.

Li Teng didn't want to die here.

He had to live and return to Film and Television City, then clearly reject the Sunglasses Woman's advances.

One must see things through in life.